>Congrats to: thebigsky for the winning DSS#8 Photo!

[Greensquared]

A massive congrats to our finalists for this round! :clap :clap :clap

So many awesome shots, it was really, really tough to narrow it down. Karrie McD and I agreed on 4 images this time, giving you all 16 to chose your favorite from. The top 5 from this round will be qualified to play in the DSS Mega-Challenge #2. :barb

This is an open vote, all DGrin members are eligible to have their say. The poll closes 3 days from now, go go go!!!

In order of entry, the best Weathered or Polished photos:

#2 - dlplumer - Dehydrated
http://dlplumer.smugmug.com/photos/368749524_BVj3d-XL.jpg

#9 - Travis - Splintered
http://owney.smugmug.com/photos/370439557_dfxpQ-L.jpg

#20 - AaronNelson - Cooling
http://pictureworks.smugmug.com/photos/375468408_MzZgD-XL.jpg

#22 - jeffmeyers - Polished Poodle
http://jeffmeyers.smugmug.com/photos/378393925_LGFXr-L.jpg

#23 - VisualXpressions - 'Time tu harvest that thar corn'
http://vxphotography.smugmug.com/photos/375913502_Qm3hj-XL.jpg

#29 - PaulThomasMcKee - Turtle-waxed TT Tail at Twilight
http://paulthomasmckee.smugmug.com/photos/375986286_NVEsK-L.jpg

#36 - thebigsky - Pride and Joy
http://thebigsky.smugmug.com/photos/373415288_RryDT-L.jpg

#40 - idiom - Retired..
http://precise.smugmug.com/photos/374833279_A3Jsf-L.jpg

#46 - MrsCue - Weather the Storm
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3158/2865331409_4a70207371_o.jpg

#47 - cmorganphotography - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
http://cmorganphotography.smugmug.com/photos/374716141_LPgzX-L.jpg

#56 - NeilL - Lucid Dream
http://neilal.smugmug.com/photos/375621351_TXxzv-L.jpg

#63 - pyroPrints.com - Bridge to Nowhere
http://pyroprints.smugmug.com/photos/376228781_TEWC8-O.jpg

#84 - vandana - "Braving it out"
http://vandana.smugmug.com/photos/377542847_F9QYm-L.jpg

#85 - Halite - Antique Silver
http://halite.smugmug.com/photos/377569792_Bpdeh-L.jpg

#90 - Elaine - 1916
http://e-heasley.smugmug.com/photos/375917722_FSA67-XL.jpg

[DoctorIt]

waaaaa waaaaaa I can't see who's winning!

:hide



vote vote Vote!!! :thumb

[Karrie McD]

Picking ten was really hard... figuring out who to vote for...even harder... still don't know who's got my vote yet :dunno

[thebigsky]

waaaaa waaaaaa I can't see who's winning!

:hide



vote vote Vote!!! :thumb

You great big sissy :rofl

Charlie

[WomanWithACamera]

Excellent work everyone! I'm sure glad I wasn't a judge on this round.

Congrats to the finalists. :clap

[AaronNelson]

Picking ten was really hard... figuring out who to vote for...even harder... still don't know who's got my vote yet :dunno

seriously...i have three i might have to draw straws....

[AaronNelson]

waaaaa waaaaaa I can't see who's winning!

:hide



vote vote Vote!!! :thumb

pot sturrrrrer.....

:D

[Nikolai]

Congrats to the finalists, tough case judges, great work everybody! :thumb

[MrsCue]

Aaaaaaahhhhh! :barb My very first finalist!!! Yippeeee! Thank you so much!

[ic4u]

Congratulations to all of the finalists...well deserved! And to everyone else who entered, I enjoyed them all, such great talent here! Best of luck to all the finalists!:clap

[OffTopic]

Is it just me? :scratch

I don't see an image for #22 - jeffmeyers - Polished Poodle

[Llywellyn]

Is it just me? :scratch

I don't see an image for #22 - jeffmeyers - Polished Poodle

It's showing up for me. :dunno

[AaronNelson]

Is it just me? :scratch

I don't see an image for #22 - jeffmeyers - Polished Poodle

jeff said to just forward your vote to the cool motorcycle

[jeffreaux2]

Is it just me? :scratch

I don't see an image for #22 - jeffmeyers - Polished Poodle

I cleared my cache, and it is no longer showing for me either.

[jeffmeyers]

I cleared my cache, and it is no longer showing for me either.

Oh crud. I was redoing my galleries last night and didn't think about breaking the links.

I can't do back and edit my entry since it's been too long. I wonder if one of the moderators can fix it. Here's the link:

http://jeffmeyers.smugmug.com/photos/378393925_LGFXr-L.jpg

Sorry!

[AaronNelson]

sounds like grounds for a DQ.....{evil}hehehehe.....

j/k

[OffTopic]

jeff said to just forward your vote to the cool motorcycle


:rofl

[OffTopic]

I'd better clarify that I was laughing at your joke, not at the idea of voting for your photo. :D

[Greensquared]

Is Polished Poodle back for you all now?

[Halite]

Is Polished Poodle back for you all now?

Sorry to say, No.

[AaronNelson]

I'd better clarify that I was laughing at your joke, not at the idea of voting for your photo. :D

oh, i know:D ...

[JAG]

Is Polished Poodle back for you all now?

I see the prancing polished poodle.
Try and say that 5 times fast!:rofl

[JAG]

These comps are getting tougher and tougher! Nice work everybody!:clap :thumb

[Wacrer]

I have been away for three months working. Only to return to an amazing display of art! Really nice work everyone, I am looking forward to going back through the last 7 and seeing all your great shots :D

Peace.

[AaronNelson]

I have been away for three months working. Only to return to an amazing display of art! Really nice work everyone, I am looking forward to going back through the last 7 and seeing all your great shots :D

Peace.

welcome back! :thumb

.....everyones coming out of the wood work lately:D

[Tentacion]

Nice Work Everyone! Sorry, I missed this round!!

Have to add..I LOVE LOVE the fact that the votes cannot be seen until the end, very COOL idea and the anticipation is killing me...LOL LOL LOL

[Jamoke]

Congrats to all!

I'm interested to see the total number of votes at the end of this... :dunno

[Greensquared]

Congrats to all!

I'm interested to see the total number of votes at the end of this... :dunno

130+ at this point. :D

[jeffmeyers]

130+ at this point. :D

Is that significantly more or less than DSS 7?

[richtersl]

Is that significantly more or less than DSS 7?
There were 152 votes cast for DSS 7.

[Greensquared]

Less than 12 hours to go people...if you haven't already, make sure you VOTE! :barb

[AaronNelson]

:eat we want food! we want food!

[Greensquared]

:eat we want food! we want food!

Back you dogs!!! :duel

[AaronNelson]

:rofl

:wink give us a hint whos in the lead?:wink come-on throw us a bone:wxwax

[Greensquared]

:rofl

:wink give us a hint whos in the lead?:wink come-up throw us a bone

Oh of course I'll do that. In about 8 1/2 hours. :D

[Greensquared]

Okay, I hate this, but I have had to disqualify Jeffreaux2's entry since he has added a large watermark and the rules state:

Watermarks: Photos may not exhibit branding or watermarks at any time during the entry period and until all judging for that round is complete.

In order to be fair to all entrants, I must uphold the rules. If you voted for his image, I believe that you may now recast your vote.

[AaronNelson]

that is a zinger, for both of you...ouch

i went and looked, and im not seeing a large watermark...:dunno

[Greensquared]

that is a zinger, for both of you...ouch

i went and looked, and im not seeing a large watermark...:dunno

Clear your browsing history

[Greensquared]

Yes, it is just awful, and I hate it. I really don't like being the bad guy, but I don't want to be unfair or wishy-washy either.

I'm adding another 24 hours to the poll, so that anyone who voted for his image will have the opportunity to recast their vote.

[AaronNelson]

oh yikes, thats the same thing Daniel Thorp did awhile back......ouch

[AaronNelson]

I'm adding another 24 hours to the poll, so that anyone who voted for his image will have the opportunity to recast their vote.

well in that case lets sing another song and buy Jeff a drink:freaky

[DoctorIt]

well in that case lets sing another song and buy Jeff a drink:freakythat's the spirit, good onya Aaron :thumb

I just want to say that what Emily did was not easy or fun, and I support her decision 100%. Due to all the discussion and past accusations of us applying rules selectively when we were just trying to be friendly and relaxed about these challenges in the past, we now have to follow the rules to a T.


I hope everyone recasts their vote - and I hope everyone who hasn't yet voted takes the extra 24 hours to do so!!!

[richtersl]

oh yikes, thats the same thing Daniel Thorp did awhile back......ouch
Oh man, that hurts! :cry

[jeffreaux2]

Sorry if I screwed up the voting. I honestly have no idea how it got watermarked, but I see it as well. I am doing my best to try to figure out what happened. Rules are rules though and I totally agree that they should be followed to a "t". Luckily for me this is MUCH less of a big deal because I stayed up late last night to watch the mighty Trojans of USC take a mighty tumble, a thumping from an unranked Oregon State team. Life is good.:wink

[Travis]

Congratulations BigSky for a beautiful photo and victory!:clap

[Greensquared]

the big sky!!!:clap :clap :clap A huge congratulations to Charlie on a well-deserved image!

The following people are now eligible to play in the upcoming Mega-Challenge #2:

thebigsky
VisualXpressions
idiom
pyroPrints.com
PaulThomasMcKee

Here's the stats (clear your browser history if you have problems seeing the actual poll):

Place: Image# - Photog - Title - Votes - %

1: #36 - thebigsky - Pride and Joy - 23 - 16.67%
2: #23 - VisualXpressions - 'Time tu harvest that thar corn' - 19 - 13.77%
2: #40 - idiom - Retired.. - 19 - 13.77%
3: #63 - pyroPrints.com - Bridge to Nowhere - 14 - 10.14%
4: #29 - PaulThomasMcKee - Turtle-waxed TT Tail at Twilight - 13 - 9.42%
5: #2 - dlplumer - Dehydrated - 12 - 8.70%
6: #46 - MrsCue - Weather the Storm - 8 - 5.80%
7: #22 - jeffmeyers - Polished Poodle - 6 - 4.35%
8: #9 - Travis - Splintered - 5 - 3.62%
8: #56 - NeilL - Lucid Dream - 5 - 3.62%
8: #90 - Elaine - 1916 - 5 - 3.62%
9: #84 - vandana - "Braving it out" - 3 - 2.17%
10: #20 - AaronNelson - Cooling - 2 - 1.45%
10: #47 - cmorganphotography - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - 2 - 1.45%
10: #85 - Halite - Antique Silver - 2 - 1.45%

[richtersl]

Congratulations to thebigsky and to all the other finalists. :clap

[Greensquared]

The top 5 images have now been added to the Winner's Gallery (http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/167709_v3S3q#381197168_mWWJN). :thumb

[jeffmeyers]

Great work, BigSky! I loved the tone and color in this shot!

[VisualXpressions]

Congratulations to all! I predicted to my Wife that Pride and Joy would win when it was posted... :thumb Very well deserved! the comp., the theme, the color, exposure... all were spot on! :thumb

Winston

[Llywellyn]

Congrats, Charlie! Awesome image. :clap

[AaronNelson]

allright Charlie!:thumb
great human element in this photograph! and perfect title.

[PaulThomasMcKee]

Way to go Charlie! Your beautiful photo really tells a story! I like the way he is reflected on the surface. BTW...What is it that the man is polishing?

[Nikolai]

Congrats Charlie!
:thumb

[idiom]

Congrats bigsky!!! A well deserved win my friend! I like it when the photo you vote for wins. :)

And also, thanks so much to everybody who voted for my photo, I am honored to be near the top with such stiff competition. There were so many fantastic photos, I had a hard time picking my top ten and my final vote!

Thanks to all who participated to make a great challenge. Lastly, thanks very much to the judges, Greensquared for coordinating and keeping things going especially. :)

Thanks!

[JAG]

and all the runner ups!:thumb

[divamum]

This photo was my winner from the day it was posted. Not only a great picture out of context, but for me personally, after most of a lifetime living in Britain, it brought back lots of memories of seeing miniature steam trains at county fairs, as well as the dedicated meets. You really made me smile

Congratulations - and to **everybody** (dq'd or otherwise :) for some truly inspiring images!

[HumpreyCogay]

Congrats to the BigsKy, The story behind the photo is great......Congrats to all the finalist...This was really a tough round...:clap

[WomanWithACamera]

Congrats BigSky! Beautiful photo!

[Karrie McD]

:clap :clap :clap :thumb :thumb :thumb

Congrats to everyone else on the pole as well.

[thebigsky]

:barb:barbWow!

Thanks everyone, sorry I'm a bit late to the party :D

This is great news, I'm so thrilled to have received so many votes in a round with some strong competition.

I took my son and daughter to our local zoo and took along my camera with the intention of taking some animal shots.

At the zoo they have a steam railway for taking visitors around the park and as we passed the boarding station I noticed this chap cleaning and polishing the engine between journeys, and I suddenly thought DSS.

I just about managed to fire off a few shots before he had finished.

So this is a steam train, circa 1900. According to this site (http://www.narrow-gauge.co.uk/gallery/99) 'it was built from equipment from the last steam industrial narrow gauge railway in Britain at Bowaters paper mill.'

Woo woo seems an appropriate celebration.:clap

Thanks again.

Charlie

[dlplumer]

Very cool Charlie. Congratulations :clap

[ic4u]

Really nice job Charlie, awesome image!